This recipe is the utmost in hedonistic decadence. Prepare yourself for an afternoon of kneading, rolling, chopping and baking and you will be rewarded with a piece of bliss. This bread has a subtle chocolate crumb with a sinful swirl of dark chocolate fudge ribboned through. If you are looking for a stunner of a gift, a delightful dessert, or a ridiculously good Sunday brunch, here's your ticket.
Chocolate Bread with Dried Cherries
Chocolate Fudge
6Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3C dark brown sugar
1 3/4C cocoa powder
Remove pan of melted butter from the heat before stirring in the sugar and cocoa. Once mixed this mixture will be slightly grainy but easily spreadable. Cover with plastic wrap and reserve.
Bread4C warm water (105 - 115F)
1 1/2 Tbsp dry active yeast
9C flour
1C cocoa powder
3Tbsp granulated sugar
4tsp sea salt
7oz Callebaut milk chocolate & 7oz Callebaut dark chocolate (but I used 14 oz of dark, because milk chocolate is for suckers). All chopped coarsely
3/4C dried cherries, soaked in brandy and the roughly chopped
Proof yeast and water; then add half of the flour and all of the other ingredients to your mixing bowl. Hint: if you have a Kitchen Aid (or the like) with a bread hook attachment, use it. Nine cups of flour is a lot of flour.
Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead the dough 10 - 15 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the dough is smooth and pliable and does not stick to your fingers when touched.
Transfer to a lighted greased/oiled large mixing bowl. Be sure to coat the dough completely with the oil before covering lightly with plastic and let it rise until doubled (1 - 1.5 hours)
Once doubled, deflate gently by folding the outer edges to the centre a couple of times. The cover with a towel and let rest about 10 minutes. Another hint: do not skip this! It makes the dough easier to roll out without springing back.
On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a large rectangle, approximately 3.5 to 4 feet (that's right, feet!) long and 1 foot wide Sprinkle the reserved fudge, chocolate chunks and soaked cherries evenly over the dough.
I made 2 large loaves, 3 small loaves and 12 large "buns", but you can do whatever combo suits you. Just be sure that if you are using a form, oil it well. Let these rise again another 45 minutes to an hour until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 375F about 10 minutes before putting in the bread.
Bake the rolls 18 to 20 minutes; the large loaves took about half an hourr. They are done when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. I'll admit, I don't have the knack for this particular test, I normally poke it and if it feels done, I pull it out. Remove from forms (if using) and let cool completely. At least mostly. The bread gets mangled and the molten chocolate scalds. Trust me, I know first hand.
Seriously, this is so delicious. It's worth the effort. And it's not for little kids. One, I'm not a fan of kids hyped up on sugar and caffeine and two, I don't think Harry is old enough to appreciate just how damn good this is. So he has to wait. But not me! Colin and I indulged ourselves with chocolate bread, vanilla ice cream and brandied cherries (that were canned earlier this summer).
Gorgeous!
The recipe was adapted from the Okanagan Grocery Artisan Breads contribution in"Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining".
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